Product Manager, Workday Student

Workday, Inc.; Pleasanton (CA); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Workday, Inc. in Pleasanton, CA seeks a Product Manager for Workday Student Financial Aid to shape features, roadmaps, and AI-driven enhancements. You will partner with customers, scrum teams, and external stakeholders to deliver compliant, automated financial aid solutions.

The role emphasizes customer advocacy, cross-functional collaboration, and documenting detailed requirements for internal and external audiences. A hybrid collaboration model supports in-person and remote work.

Qualifications

• > 5 years of product management experience in SaaS/cloud enterprise software.
• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Computer Science, or related discipline.

Responsibilities

• Define the product vision, strategy and roadmap with technical capabilities.
• Translate evolving federal financial aid regulations into clear product requirements.
• Drive the roadmap for owned components with cross-functional scrum teams.
• Advocate for customers and students, collect and represent their needs.
• Design AI-driven features to improve automation and efficiency.
• Collaborate with Workday teams to ensure aligned delivery.
• Engage external stakeholders to understand desired outcomes.
• Document requirements, sprint plans, Jira projects, and roadmaps.
• Lead release solution design based on user needs and tech architecture.
• Align teams to high-value OKRs and measurable outcomes.
• Promote education and adoption of platform features internally.
• Evangelize the product area at Workday events.
• Lead technical discussions with stakeholders and customers.

Skills

Customer Advocacy

Business Influence

Decision Making

Cross-Team Collaboration

Domain Knowledge

Stakeholder Management

Accountable Owner

Customer Advocate

Customer Empathy

Data Analysis

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Computer Science, or related discipline

Tools

Jira

AI tools

Job description

Your work days are brighter here. We’re obsessed with making hard work pay off, for our people, our customers, and the world around us. As a Fortune 500 company and a leading AI platform for managing people, money, and agents, we’re shaping the future of work so teams can reach their potential and focus on what matters most. The minute you join, you’ll feel it. Not just in the products we build, but in how we show up for each other. Our culture is rooted in integrity, empathy, and shared enthusiasm. We’re in this together, tackling big challenges with bold ideas and genuine care. We look for curious minds and courageous collaborators who bring sun-drenched optimism and drive. Whether you're building smarter solutions, supporting customers, or creating a space where everyone belongs, you’ll do meaningful work with Workmates who’ve got your back. In return, we’ll give you the trust to take risks, the tools to grow, the skills to develop and the support of a company invested in you for the long haul. So, if you want to inspire a brighter work day for everyone, including yourself, you’ve found a match in Workday, and we hope to be a match for you too.

About the Team

The Student Financial Aid team interprets ever-changing, complex federal U.S. Department of Education regulations and translates them into automated packaging, awarding, and disbursement of millions of dollars for our Higher Education schools and their students. We sit at the intersection of policy and technology, ensuring that institutions can confidently deliver financial aid in compliance with federal requirements while providing students with a seamless experience. In the year ahead, our team is navigating ongoing regulatory changes at the Department of Education level, building solutions as new regulations emerge, all while researching and designing AI-powered features that have the potential to reshape the higher education industry. If you are energized by meaningful, mission-driven work that directly impacts students' access to education, this is the team for you. We are a close-knit group with deep higher education industry experience combined with product management expertise in high tech. Our culture is collaborative, supportive, and grounded in a shared commitment to making a real difference for schools and their students.

About the Role

As a Product Manager for Workday Student Financial Aid, you will drive product development by guiding our product roadmap and collaborating closely with customers and scrum teams. You will serve as the voice of the customer and the student, shaping new features, key enhancements, innovative AI solutions, and post-production support. Partnering with Workday functional and technical product experts, you will utilize AI tools to set priorities, develop multi-year roadmaps, define sprint plans, and create detailed requirements documentation for both internal and external audiences.

• Define the product vision, strategy and roadmap, including the underlying technical capabilities.
• Interpreting complex and evolving federal financial aid regulations and translating them into clear, actionable product requirements
• Driving the product roadmap for the component areas you own and collaborating with scrum teams to deliver high-quality releases on schedule
• Serving as the primary advocate for customers and students, gathering feedback and representing their needs throughout the product development lifecycle
• Researching and designing AI-driven features that improve automation, efficiency, and the overall student and administrator experience
• Collaborating with cross-functional teams across Workday, including other product managers, architects, engineering, and customer-facing teams, to ensure alignment and successful delivery
• Collaborating with external stakeholders including customers, partners and the U.S. Department of Education to understand their desired business outcomes and priorities
• Creating and maintaining detailed requirements documentation, sprint plans, Jira projects, and multi-year roadmaps using AI tools
• Drive solution design for each release based on user requirements, technical architecture, and business outcomes.
• Guide the product teams towards high value OKRs.
• Support education and adoption of platform features by internal development teams.
• Communicate and evangelize the product area among the Workday community and at Workday events.
• Lead technical discussions with key internal and external stakeholders / customers.

About You

Basic Qualifications

• 5+ years experience in product management, defining and delivering SaaS and/or cloud-based enterprise software products or features.
• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant discipline such as Business, Computer Science, or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
• Experience managing at least one product through a full Product Life Cycle (PLC) - from initial concept and requirements gathering to launch and post-launch optimization
• 3+ years experience researching and prioritizing business requirements.

Other Qualifications

• Customer Advocacy — You are dedicated to representing customer interests and building products that deliver maximum value. You develop strategies to improve the customer experience and build relationships with customers to gain their trust and loyalty.
• Business Influence — You can shape decisions and opinions within product teams and with partners, using persuasive communication and well-developed relationships to drive alignment on priorities and direction by presenting data, building consensus, working with the team on compromises, and articulating a strategic vision.
• Decision Making — You can anticipate problems, resolve ambiguity, and take decisive action. You are comfortable evaluating multiple options and selecting the best course of action, even with incomplete information.
• Cross-Team Collaboration — You are flexible, reliable, and collaborative. You work effectively with others, contributing to a culture of inclusivity and mutual respect. You effectively lead and work with Engineering, Design, Support, Documentation teams, and Marketing to define and deliver product features.
• Domain Knowledge — Knowledge of Student Information System products or the higher education industry is preferred. You stay current with developments in the field and apply that understanding to inform product decisions.
• Stakeholder Management — You have experience working with clients and participating in customer-facing projects. You can identify key partners, understand their needs, and develop effective communication strategies to keep everyone aligned.
• Accountable Owner - You operate independently and can be trusted to follow through on commitments.
• Customer Advocate - You deeply understand and articulate customer needs in product strategy and decisions through user research, feedback analysis, or customer engagement.
• Customer Empathy - You proactively seek and understand customer pain points to drive product development and improve user experience by meeting with outbound facing stakeholders and customers.
• Data Analysis - You demonstrate solid data analysis skills by using adoptions metric tools to derive actionable insights for product strategy, prioritization, and measuring success.

Workday Pay Transparency Statement

The annualized base salary ranges for the primary location and any additional locations are listed below.

Workday pay ranges vary based on work location. As part of the total compensation package, this role may be eligible for the Workday Bonus Plan or a role-specific commission/bonus, as well as annual refresh stock grants. Recruiters can share more detail during the hiring process. Each candidate’s compensation offer will be based on multiple factors including, but not limited to, geography, experience, skills, job duties, and business need, among other things.

Primary Location: USA.CA.Pleasanton

Primary Location Base Pay Range: $140,000 USD - $210,000 USD

Additional US Location(s) Base Pay Range: $117,800 USD - $210,000 USD

Our Approach to Flexible Work

With Flex Work, we’re combining the best of both worlds: in-person time and remote. Our approach enables our teams to deepen connections, maintain a strong community, and do their best work. We know that flexibility can take shape in many ways, so rather than a number of required days in‑office each week, we simply spend at least half (50%) of our time each quarter in the office or in the field with our customers, prospects, and partners (depending on role). This means you'll have the freedom to create a flexible schedule that caters to your business, team, and personal needs, while being intentional to make the most of time spent together. Those in our remote "home office" roles also have the opportunity to come together in our offices for important moments that matter.

Pursuant to applicable Fair Chance law, Workday will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Workday is an Equal Opportunity Employer including individuals with disabilities and protected veterans.

At Workday, we are committed to providing an accessible and inclusive hiring experience where all candidates can fully demonstrate their skills.

If you require assistance or an accommodation at any point, please email [e-mail].

We do not accept resumes from headhunters, placement agencies, or other suppliers that have not signed a formal agreement with us.

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Workday is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities, disabled veterans, and others during our application process.